One of the things you often find yourself thinking is, hmm…I should probably test my windows machines for security flaws, right? I’ve decided to share some very good tools for testing security from basic button clicking to advanced security testing.

As it relates to Windows-based computers, there are seven general types of security testing tools. These are:

Port scanners

Network/OS vulnerability scanners

Application/database vulnerability scanners

Password crackers

File searching tools

Network analyzers

Exploit tools

All of these types of tools can and should be used when performing penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and security audits on your Windows systems.

For the most part with security tools, you get what you pay for. There are, however, a handful of free tools that are a solid choice.

– Super Scan v3: Very fast and easy to use port scanner that can find live systems, look for open ports and running services, grab banner information including software versions.

As you build your compilation of security testing tools over time, you’ll find that there is no one best tool. Keep in mind that security tools are not the “easy button” for finding security vulnerabilities. That’s where Operating System, Application, Networking Knowledge, and most importantly, experience will come into play.

Where tools are required, you’ll see that the ones that are more specialized in finding specific types of vulnerabilities will provide you with the best results. It all comes down to personal preference and how comfortable you feel using each tool, but in the end your goal should be to find the greatest number of vulnerabilities, exerting the least amount of work, in the shortest amount of time. Get to know the tools on this list, use them consistently and you’ll be well on your way to a storm of work that you never thought you had before ;).